Fingerprints Music

Reviews:

Something slightly disturbing can happen to young radicals once they start growing older. They may still hold onto some of the ideals that made them interesting, but they slide into a comfortable mediocrity in other ways. This profound aesthetic ambivalence seems to have infected Michael Franti at this stage. A few years back, some were proclaiming this San Francisco Bay Area singer/songwriter to be his generation's answer to Gil Scott-Heron, coming up by way of industrial crew the Beatnigs and the ambitious hip-hop project Disposable Heroes of Hiphopricy to embrace the same legacy of poetic dissent and musical versatility. These characteristics are on display again on this LP, and given an even greater sense of urgency with the age of terrorism's specter upon the whole of this LP. But for the most part, it's only met with a tepid mixture of hip-hop, rock, R&B and pop that may give more strength to Franti's opposition with its saccharine ineffectiveness.

By all means, Franti's intentions are sterling, and all of the songs maintain a sincere bent towards fairness and peaceful conflict resolution. But without conflict, there is no drama or tension, just sappy platitudes like the ones uttered on "Yes I Will" and the title track. This doesn't take away from times when Franti hits the target, such as on the anti-war anthem "Bomb the World" or the gentle Brazilian pop closer "Crazy, Crazy, Crazy." But for the most part, Franti comes off more like the Shel Silverstein of our times, trading in his prior inventiveness for a sentiment that does him a disservice as an artist.